Monthly Archives: October 2012

Tyson Foods Continues Hunger Relief Efforts with Gleaners

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Categories: Business News, Philanthropy

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It’s always a pleasure to see our members giving back to their communities. As we’ve documented here before, Tyson Foods makes it a point to aid those in need of food. Here is information on the company’s latest effort in partnership with Gleaners Food Bank:

Tyson Foods, Inc. donated a truckload of food to Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana today as part of an effort to feed people in need and promote public awareness of hunger in America. 

“There are millions of hard-working adults, children and seniors who simply cannot make ends meet and are faced with the realities of hunger and malnourishment,” said John Tyson, chairman of Tyson Foods. “We’re trying to make a difference in their lives by providing nutrient-rich protein and by increasing understanding of hunger in our country.”

To date, Gleaners has distributed over 300 million pounds of food and critical grocery products. In the last fiscal year, the food bank distributed nearly 21 million pounds of food, or 16 million meals.

“We are thrilled to receive this very generous donation from Tyson Foods,” said Cindy Hubert, president and CEO of Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana. “It is a fantastic effort that will help to exceed the National FFA’s goal of feeding 1 million people.”

Last year Tyson launched the “KNOW Hunger” campaign to raise hunger awareness. As part of the campaign, the company released the results of a survey which found that one in four Americans is worried about having enough money to put food on the table and that many Americans are unaware of how serious hunger is in their own communities. Raising awareness that hunger exists in every community in the country reinforces the campaign’s imperative that “We should all KNOW Hunger.”

Since 2000, Tyson Foods has fought hunger in the U.S by donating nearly 90 million pounds of protein. The company partners with Food Research and Action Center, Feeding America, Share Our Strength, Lift Up America and the League of United Latin American Citizens to raise awareness and help feed the hungry across the nation. 

Meat and poultry are excellent sources of heme iron, which is especially important for women, children and adolescent girls, who are often deficient in iron. For more information on the nutritional value of meat and poultry, go to: http://www.meatpoultrynutrition.org/ht/d/sp/i/26062/pid/26062

For more information on Tyson’s hunger relief efforts, go to: http://www.TysonHungerRelief.com/

Political Polls: This is Getting to be Ridiculous

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Categories: 2012 Political Races

Well this is just depressing: A third-party candidate for president was omitted from a presidential poll in North Carolina.

When I look at the two mainstream presidential candidates, I find that I have a hard time siding with either of them, so I am all for a third party coming in to shake up our political system and maybe work on behalf of the taxpayers instead of the political machine.

But that’s not the truly depressing part: Instead of asking a key voting state about all the candidates on the ballot (Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is indeed on the ballot in North Carolina), the poll from Public Policy Polling took the space and time to ask the question: Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Honey Boo Boo?

Okay, for those of you who don’t have cable (that would be me), or don’t have time to tune into TLC (The Learning Channel, amusingly), Honey Boo Boo is apparently the nickname of a child pageant participant from Georgia (first seen on the channel’s "Toddlers & Tiaras" program), who has her very own show on TLC: "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo."

As I have never seen the show myself and don’t want you to have to search for it, here is what I can find on the Internet: “Star” of the show, Alana Thompson, is a seven-year-old beauty pageant contestant. Her mother regularly feeds her a mixture of Red Bull and Mountain Dew, fondly called “Go Go Juice” just before her pageants. And, even though the family resides in America, a good portion of the show is subtitled, due to the slang and thick accents of its cast.

So, let me break it down for you one more time. Instead of asking 1,084 potential North Carolina voters between October 12 and 14 about their opinion of the only third-party presidential candidate on the ballot, Public Policy Polling instead asked about their opinion of a seven-year-old reality television star from a different state.

WHAT?

I am not a political expert, so while I’m sure there is some over-arching reason for asking such a silly question, it just gives me even less heart about our political system. I’m flabbergasted that this is what it has come down to these days.

At least 50% of those responders were “not sure” (47% “unfavorable and 3% “favorable”). Oh, and the poll had Republican Mitt Romney with a small lead in the state over President Barack Obama, in case you cared.

Though, had the third party candidate been included, who knows what the results might have been?

Not a Fan of Romney or Obama? Third Party Candidates Offer Views in Debate

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Categories: 2012 Political Races

It’s been a while since a third party candidate has really made a splash in the presidential election. Ross Perot garnered 19% of the popular vote back in 1992, and many left-leaners fault Ralph Nader’s Green Party bid in 2000 for serving as the reason Al Gore lost the election — although the onus should probably fall on the Supreme Court for that. (Additionally, this year’s Green Party nominee, Harvard educated physician Jill Stein, was arrested for trying to get into the first presidential debate.) But frankly, my favorite third party candidate in American history would have to be former-President Theodore Roosevelt, when he ran for a second term with the progressive Bull Moose Party.

Unless Libertarian and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson gets a surprising chunk of the vote and potentially hinders Romney’s chances (although many libertarians scoff at the notion that those votes would otherwise go to a Republican), it’s doubtful third parties will make an impact this year. However, Larry King moderated a debate between them on Tuesday, and it’s worth noting.

The New York Times blog The Caucus reports:

The call by the liberals, Jill Stein of the Green Party and Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party, for an end to the war on drugs was amplified by Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate. Mr. Johnson offered bona fides on the question: “I have drank alcohol, I have smoked marijuana” — though not anymore, he said. Even Virgil Goode of the conservative Constitution Party, who opposes legalization, said he would cut financing for federal drug enforcement in the name of closing the deficit.

But their passion and refusal to compromise on the principles that reflect their ideas of American democracy marked each person on stage. In an illustration of the circular nature of the political spectrum, the staunch liberals and small-government conservatives all firmly opposed the practice of indefinite detention without trial and said that the Pentagon’s budget should be cut as the United States takes a less aggressive posture.

“We cannot be the policemen of the world,” Mr. Goode said, followed shortly by Ms. Stein’s similar sentiment: “A foreign policy based on militarism and brute military force is making us less secure, not more secure.”

The particular set questions, submitted by social media and the event’s organizers, disproportionately addressed issues where the candidates’ views are alike. It took a question about the cost of college to reveal strong differences. Ms. Stein, a physician, and Mr. Anderson, a former Democrat and mayor of Salt Lake City, both said the government should provide free higher education. The right-leaning candidates both said they would cut Pell grants, Mr. Johnson reasoning that guaranteed government loans make universities “immune from pricing.”

And even Mr. Johnson and Mr. Goode had differences. The latter said he would cut off immigration until the unemployment rate dropped to 5 percent, while Mr. Johnson, a former New Mexico governor who unsuccessfully ran in the G.O.P. primary, wants to make it easier for immigrants to get work visas.

Both men have been seen as possible spoilers for Mitt Romney, and Mr. Goode seemed to particularly relish that potential. A former Virginia congressman, he overcame Republicans’ efforts to keep him off the ballot in that state, and he frequently contrasted his plans to cut the budget with the slower approach of the Republican ticket.

Subaru of Indiana Earns Big Honor for Corporate Service

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Categories: Business News, Human Resources, Philanthropy

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The Indiana Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives recently announced that Subaru of Indiana Automotive (Lafayette) was honored for the company’s service to its community. We’re proud to call SIA a member and congratulate the company for giving back:

The Governor’s Service Awards honor the exemplary work of statewide nominees on behalf of their communities and the state. The 2012 awards were issued at an awards dinner on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, at the Governor’s Residence in Indianapolis. At the awards ceremony, the Corporate Service Award for 2012 was presented to Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. (SIA) of Lafayette.
 
The good works of the employees of SIA, as encouraged by the company’s executive and management teams, are too numerous to list. Employees raise $40,000 annually to support 150 kids through the Lyn Treece Boys and Girls Club. They have also support teams for nearly a dozen annual charity walks, raising tens of thousands of dollars for medical research, hunger initiatives and more along the way.
 
Additionally, Subaru team members partnered with other organizations in 2012 to fund and build the 1,500-square-foot Safe Haven Home, an emergency shelter for families displaced by disaster. This December, employees will once again participate in Holiday of Hope to grant more than 1,000 Lafayette children their holiday wishes.
 
The awards ceremony where SIA was awarded for these great deeds was one of three events over two days that comprise the 2012 Governor’s Conference on Service and Nonprofit Capacity Building, co-sponsored by the Indiana Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and the IUPUI Polis Center’s SAVI Community Information System.
 
More than 200 people attended the awards dinner, including winners, their families and supporters, faith and community service leaders, nonprofit professionals and representatives from state and local governments.
 
WFYI Indianapolis radio host Matthew Socey emceed the awards dinner, and videos created by Sonar Studios spotlighting each recipient were featured.

It’s Work, But It’s Really Cool Work at Times

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Categories: BizVoice, Chamber News

November 1 marks the 23rd year of the Indiana Chamber’s Annual Awards Dinner and my 15th year of involvement. BizVoice magazine profiles of the winners, planning and compiling videos for the event; scripting some of the proceedings and working with the media interested in talking with the guest speakers are among some of my responsibilities.

It’s a great deal of work, but it’s also very enjoyable. Getting to know the award winners and helping tell their stories is about as good as it gets in the world of journalism. And interacting with the keynote presenters is something special.

Here are some of the names from the past 14 years: Steve Forbes, Alvin Toffler, the late Tim Russert, Bob Costas, Mary Matlin and James Carville, Martin Luther King III, Newt Gingrich, Tom Brokaw and Terry Bradshaw. On the entertainment side, the satirical group The Capitol Steps has appeared twice and there was another Washington favorite in Mark Russell.

There are a few stories regarding those speakers that I can’t share. But it is fair to say most (nearly all) have been interesting and accommodating in brief one-on-one discussions and in their interactions with the media.

Speaking of media, we’re hearing from more than a few journalists who are especially excited about this year’s speakers — the Watergate duo of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Although a youngster at the time of Richard Nixon’s escapades and their investigative reporting, I have to admit I’m looking forward to meeting them and hearing their stories about the lessons learned in the ensuing 40 years.

Yeah, it’s work, but I’m not complaining.

Ad War Winner is TV Stations in Key States

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Categories: 2012 Political Races

Combined television advertising spending in the presidential race is on pace to top $1 billion by Election Day. And while you might think you’re seeing more than a few attacks and the occasional "I have an idea" spot here in Hoosierland, we’re actually barely a blip on the radar screen.

Residents in the battleground states are being bombarded. Just last week, the tally came to an estimated $14.3 million in Florida, $13.9 million in Ohio and $9.3 million in Virginia. Colorado and Iowa have also been part of the mix since the summer.

In fact, before the campaign was even in full swing, here were the 10 media markets as defined by most gross rating points (an advertising measure that, in simplied terms, means  reach times frequency) for just July and August.

  1. Colorado Springs
  2. Roanoke-Lynchburg
  3. Richmond-Petersburg
  4. Denver
  5. Des Moines
  6. Columbus
  7. Cincinnati
  8. Cleveland
  9. Tampa-St. Pete
  10. Cedar Rapids

I guess one can always switch the channel, but there’s no guarantee you won’t be "attacked" there as well. Good luck and remember there are only two more weeks to go.

Still Not Sure Who You’re Supporting for President? Try This Quiz

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Categories: 2012 Political Races, Government

Because my political affiliation would best be described as "clustermess," I always get a kick out of taking these "Who Is Your Closest Match?" surveys of presidential candidates.

Independent educational site ProCon.org has a pretty good one with 68 questions. Would love for folks to discuss their results in our comments section, but unfortunately our comments section is down at the moment as our web guys are having trouble figuring out a major spam issue. So I’ll post this blog on our Facebook page and you can comment there if you like.

Happy matching!

Ill Communication: Strange Reasons People Call in “Sick”

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Categories: Health Care, Human Resources, Wellness

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I once had to delay coming to work because my dog, Harold (pictured), injured his foot jumping off of my bed. While I didn’t call in "sick" and actually told my supervisors what was going on, it was an odd reason to be sure. (Even more odd considering he was fine the next day after I dropped a couple hundo at the vet, and he may have simply been in search of some painkillers to ease the stress he must be under from sleeping all day and listening to light rock radio.)

At any rate, Ragan reports on on CareerBuilder’s survey about the reasons people can’t make it in to work. Some of these excuses will amuse you:

Take a look at this list CareerBuilder compiled from the survey. You may have heard some of these yourself.

When asked to share the most memorable excuses, employers reported the following real-life examples:

• Employee’s sobriety tool wouldn’t allow the car to start.
• Employee forgot he was hired for the job.
• Employee said her dog was having a nervous breakdown.
• Employee’s dead grandmother was being exhumed for a police investigation.
• Employee’s toe was stuck in a faucet.
• Employee said a bird bit her.
• Employee was upset after watching "The Hunger Games."
• Employee got sick from reading too much.
• Employee was suffering from a broken heart.
• Employee’s hair turned orange from dying her hair at home.

29 percent of bosses check up on excuses

The survey also found that a fair number of managers want to verify if sick workers are actually sick.

This was a big issue for me when I was a manager in Hawaii in a union shop, and mysteriously had a number of the surfers on staff call in sick when the surf was particularly large. I never caught any of them surfing when they should have been home in bed, but that was more because I didn’t have the time or resources to track all of them down.

Twenty-nine percent of employers say they have checked up on an employee to verify that his or her illness was legitimate, usually by requiring a doctor’s note or calling the employee later in the day.
 

 

U. of Colorado Study: Romney Will Win Popular Vote

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Categories: 2012 Political Races, Government

Campus Reform reports that a well-known University of Colorado study often respected for its accurate predictions reveals a 77% chance Mitt Romney will win the popular vote this November. However, as we know, the electoral college doesn’t always deliver the most popular president (and 77% isn’t exactly a sure thing). It’s simply food for thought, and a strong reminder to get to the ballot box and support your preferred candidate.

The University of Colorado (CU) prediction renowned for perfect accuracy will predict a popular-vote win for Mitt Romney later this month, Campus Reform has learned.

The poll has accurately predicted every presidential election since it was developed in 1980. It is unique in that it employs factors outside of state economic indicators to predict the next president.

CU Political Science Professor Dr. Michael Berry, who spoke with Campus Reform at length on Tuesday, said there is at least 77 percent chance that Romney will win the popular vote.

Professor Michael Berry from the University of Colorado told Campus Reform in an exclusive interview that there is a 77 percent chance Romney will win the popular vote.

“Our model indicates that Governor Romney has a 77 percent likelihood of winning the popular vote,” said Berry.

That number is significant, not only in its size, but because of the fact that only four presidents since the nation’s founding have won the presidency without capturing the popular vote, the last being George W. Bush in 2000.

Berry noted his model has never been wrong at predicting the outcome of a presidential election.

“For the last eight presidential elections, this model has correctly predicted the winner,” he said.

Berry also acknowledged that while his poll is accurate, however, that his model does not “calculate a specific confidence level for the Electoral College result.”

The study, conducted every four years, is non-political and employs historical data as well as current unemployment numbers and income levels.

In the crucial swing states of Florida, Ohio, and Virginia, a recent poll reveals that a majority of voters believe the health of the economy is the most important issue of this election.

Additionally, more than double of the respondents in a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll trust Romney over Obama to fix the economic state of our country (63%-29%).

Along with the economy, unemployment adds an element which only increases the probability of the CU prediction.

“The apparent advantage of being a Democratic candidate and holding the White House disappears when the national unemployment rate hits 5.6 percent,” Berry said.

Kenneth Bickers of CU-Boulder adds, “the incumbency advantage enjoyed by President Obama, though statistically significant, is not great enough to offset high rates of unemployment currently experienced in many of the states.”

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Study: Nearly 31% of Hoosiers are Obese

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Categories: Education, Health Care, Wellness

Ball State University recently issued a press release stating a staggering 31% of Hoosiers are obese. Horrifying as that is, there are many initiatives going on statewide, including the Wellness Council of Indiana, that offer resources to help employers deal with this problem. Ball State reports:

Nearly 31 percent of Indiana’s adult population reports being obese, ranking the state eighth worst nationally in terms of percentage of population severely overweight, says a new study by Ball State University.

The Burden of Adult Obesity in Indiana, a study by the Ball State’s Global Health Institute (GHI), found obesity rates rose by 0.7 percent to 30.8 percent in the last year. The national rate has dropped slightly from 27.5 percent in 2011. Data for the study was provided by the Centers for Disease Control.
 
People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of the person’s height in meters, exceeds 30.
 
"The percentage of adults who are obese has steadily increased over the past 20 years for both Americans and Hoosiers," said Kerry Anne McGeary, GHI director, and Phyllis A. Miller, professor of health economics. "Obesity poses a major risk for serious non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and cancer."
 
She also pointed out that an obese person in the United States spends about $1,400, or roughly 42 percent, more each year on health care than a healthy-weight person. Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading risk for global deaths, resulting in 2.8 million deaths per year.
 
Ball State’s research also found that In Indiana:

  • 30.9 percent of males report being obese compared to 30.8 percent of females.
  • Among adults under 65, the percentage who report being obese increases with age, while obesity levels decrease for those with higher levels of education.
  • 13.3 percent of adults who report obesity also have cardiovascular disease as compared to 7.2 percent of adults who reported a healthy weight.
  • 42.2 percent of African-American adults are obese, compared to 34.7 percent of Hispanic adults and 29.5 percent of white adults.
  • 18.7 percent of adults who report obesity also report having diabetes compared to 4 percent of healthy weight adults.

McGeary also points out that while obesity is preventable, medical costs associated with the condition are skyrocketing. In 2008, the annual direct medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was estimated to be as high as $147 billion, rising to nearly 10 percent of all medical spending.
 
"By 2030, the majority of states could have obesity levels above 50 percent and Indiana could hit that 50 percent level well before then," McGeary said. "If the average BMI of the population could reduce by just 5 percentage points by 2030, millions of people could avoid obesity-related diseases and billions of dollars would be saved."